As a secretly trained undercover agent by the Guardian, Ye Meng knew exactly what she was doing.
Orphaned at a young age with both parents lost on the battlefield against the Wei Wo Zheng Sect, she was only two years old at that time.
She began participating in the Dark Hall's collective training at the age of two and a half.
Along with Ye Meng, a total of four hundred children of similar size joined this base for secret collective training.
Eventually, some were reclassified as assassins, some as hitmen, while others were outright eliminated, either being relegated to administrative duties or shipped off to the Guardian Army or to various functional departments.
In the end, only fifteen remained.
The cruel elimination system could no longer simply be described as survival of the fittest.
Among those fifteen, both male and female, three had gone on missions and were already deceased.
And Ye Meng was the first among these fifteen. She had the highest talent, the most proficiently mastered operations, and the highest stealth.
Because of her especially outstanding talent, she had always been in focused training, receiving various kinds of instruction; of course, it also had to do with this damsel's somewhat enchanting appearance.
Her eyes were too big.
And there was also a bit of natural baby fat.
As soon as she opened her eyes, she revealed an adorable daze.
Even if she was cunning to death inside, her appearance still gave people a dazed, puzzled, and cute feeling.
Anyone who saw her would think, this young maiden is so dim-witted and slow-witted, she surely must be dim upstairs.
Yet she was also naturally endearing.
With slightly droopy eyes, she was a disaster for the nation, a bewitching fairy; but when she opened her eyes wide, in an instant she transformed from a fairy into a cute and clueless young girl.
Whoever saw her wanted to pinch her face.
With such attributes, coupled with her extraordinary Martial Arts Talent, it was impossible to let her go.
Until this time, the high command thought it might be worth a try.
And when Fan Tiantiao filed the report, hearing that it was just a minor shrimp who had joined the sect and had such low strength, they considered the safety factor very high.
Thus, they chose such a relatively safe mission and placed her beside Fang Che to gain some experience first.
After all, a thread like Fang Che generally had limited value for exploitation.
Because his level was too low, just a Warrior, and also only seventeen...
They thought, if there's a bit of a harvest, good; if not, then when the time comes to wrap things up, that would be that.
It was akin to hitting three times whether or not there were dates, letting Ye Meng train a bit.
But now, Ye Meng was a bit lost.
The mission was going too smoothly!
This Fang Che was almost providing the most relaxed environment for her to be undercover, and his reasons were impeccable!
She felt it was indeed so.
It should indeed be so!
Thus, although Ye Meng wasn't asleep, she felt as if she was in a dream.
Confused.
"Successfully infiltrated Fang's side."
"Fang Che's cultivation is around Fifth-Grade Warrior, possessing great talent; his practice is progressing swiftly, and at this rate, he's sure to rank within the top ten in the upcoming Guardian Martial Arts Academy's entrance competition next month; the top three are promising."
"Fang Che intends to train me in Cultivation Techniques, expecting future assistance from me."
"..."
She quickly encrypted and sent out a few lines with this cipher.
...
After that, Fang Che began his Cultivation training, not only indulging diligently himself but also supervising Ye Meng, demanding even stricter measures.
It even reached an obsessive degree.
The slightest imperfection met with either punishment or scolding, his mouthful of insults like 'worthless, indeed untrainable, what quality, a waste of my food!'...
Ye Meng was fuming yet dared not speak, and she also couldn't expose her real skill level; she endured and practiced desperately, with lumps forming on her head from the abuse.
"You can't even hold a sword!"
"Why are you looking at me when practicing?"
"Three days and you still haven't mastered the Cultivation Technique, useless!"
"You can't stand, you can't walk, you're even worse at running! What have you been eating? Do you think you're just a maid pouring water and serving tea?"
"..."
As soon as Fang Che took a break, Ye Meng's nightmare would arrive!
His mouth was like a venomous snake, spitting out all kinds of hideous, attacking words.
Cold and nasty.
"With your talents, if you don't improve, you're good for nothing but bearing children!"
"Your breasts aren't large, your butt isn't perky, you don't have a bit of meat on you, just a bag of bones—any concubine would be uncomfortable to cuddle with..."
"If you're still so slow, I'll sell you to a brothel!"
Ye Meng's heart burned with an inferno, several times barely stopping herself from striking him dead with a slap.
His mouth was too goddamn venomous!
Anger in her heart nearly exploded, but instinctively she followed Fang Che's commands, ending each day with a sore back, painful legs, and a swollen head—well, the swelling in her head was from the insults.
At night, after making arrangements for Fang Che to sleep, Ye Meng began to gather the day's gains.
Then, a series of movements flashed through her mind.
Finally, she stopped on the action of unsheathing a sword.
Suddenly, she was a bit surprised.
She carefully recalled her original movements, comparing them to the movements she was making now, mentally constructing different silhouettes of drawing a sword to compare.
She was shocked to find that unsheathing the sword this way was more fluid than her original movements, and on top of that, as the sword was drawn it already possessed killing power. If practiced to a certain extent, the Sword Qi released upon unsheathing could directly harm an opponent!
Her own previous habitual movements couldn't do that!
Although it was only one form, if she restored her true level of swordsmanship, her combat power could almost double due to the element of surprise in this one form!
And the lethality had increased even more.
"How is this possible?"
Suddenly, Ye Meng was somewhat bewildered.
Deciding to look at it again tomorrow.
Could this way be the most correct? Or could it be something that predecessors had not discovered? Was what I practised before, in fact, not the most correct?
Ye Meng's thoughts were not important at the moment, but Fang Che was lying on the bed, sharing a secret chuckle to himself.
Had she given herself away?
Hmph, a delicate woman who had never undergone martial arts training, just freshly recovered from serious injuries, wielding a blue steel sword weighing over four pounds, and yet able to practice all afternoon without her arm swelling in the slightest.
This girl sure was lucky to have met me.
Otherwise, she might have already been subjected to harsh interrogation by now.
Morning.
Watching Ye Meng bring in water, Fang Che snorted and said, "What's the matter, your arm hurts? Just knew you were useless, practicing sword for an afternoon and it's already like this? What uselessness!"
Ye Meng broke into a cold sweat all over.
She suddenly realized she had exposed such a major flaw!
She quickly said, "It's... my first time practicing sword, it felt novel... I didn't pay attention to my body..."
"You need a mental method to accompany it, start with the mental method I taught you today."
Fang Che snorted, "That's my master's exclusive cultivation technique."
"Your master?"
"Of course."
Fang Che proudly said, "My master is known as the Flying Sky Saber King. You don't understand now, but you'll understand in the future what the title of 'king' represents!"
Flying Sky Saber King!
Ye Meng felt a jolt in her heart.
Immediately, countless pieces of intelligence surfaced in her mind – Flying Sky Saber King, Sun Yuan; neither entirely righteous nor evil, a Jianghu wanderer.
Could it be...
"Young master is so formidable!" Ye Meng praised.
"Of course!"
Fang Che lifted his head proudly, "I am a genius, and moreover, I have ties with many important people. What do you know?"
Ye Meng replied excitedly, "Important people? I've never really met one. In my eyes, young master is the most important person of all."
Fang Che said with pride, "The true figures in the clouds, how much do you know of them? Well, you've only just begun to touch upon martial arts. Those above the clouds, such as the Yin Shen Palace people I just met, they are the real big shots. You'll know in time."
Yin Shen Palace?
Ye Meng suppressed the shock in her heart, bewildered, she shook her head, "I don't understand."
Disdainfully, Fang Che waved his hand, "Talking to you is like playing the lute to a cow. That's enough, you may leave."
Giving you time and space to send the message quickly.
Yin Shen Palace did not come for my induction ceremony into the sect, because I'm not that important.
So he must have come here for some big issue!
Report it quickly!
...
Fang Che smiled silently to himself. This was a piece of information he had intentionally let slip; first, the movement of the Demon Sect leader would certainly be a significant event, the information was of utmost urgency. Second, Ye Meng had just arrived, and if she grew accustomed to sneakily gathering intelligence, she would miss out on this opportunity.
Of course, there was a third reason: it wasn't easy to have an undercover agent by his side. He should quickly give her some achievements to boost her worth.
Otherwise, if she turned out to be a simpleton and failed to uncover any information in a few days, she might be pulled back, leaving Fang Che genuinely surprised and dismayed.
So, while the method was somewhat low, as long as it was effective for now, that was all that mattered.
...
The following day was dedicated to cultivation.
Fang Qianyi saw his son intensely practicing and joined in.
While practicing, he couldn't help but praise, "Che'er, I must say, the techniques your master taught are truly useful."
Indeed, Fang Qianyi had noticed their benefits.
Fang Che was unimpressed by the praise.
These were his people, the stronger they were, the better.
Except for the Infinite Scripture which he could not impart, everything else was fair game.
During these days, Fang Che advanced a small step in the Infinite Scripture, entering the First Level; as for the Bingche Spirit Platform and Phantom Bones, Shifting Forms, he had fully mastered them.
The Blood Spirit Seven Swords and the Heart Plucking Thirteen Styles of the Divine Monkey reached proficiency.
Of course, the primary focus was on the legacy of Sun Yuan, mastering various blade techniques, body techniques, and mental methods.
He also meticulously pondered over each form of Sword, Spear, Saber, Halberd.
...
Meanwhile, at the Guardian side, arrangements were already being made.
Regarding Ye Meng's intelligence, only two people in the entire hall had the clearance to view it.
Chen Ru Hai and Fan Tiantiao.
Two individuals who did not see eye to eye, yet had to come together to discuss matters every day.
"Flying Sky Saber King Sun Yuan has been put under surveillance!"
Fan Tiantiao, with a worried expression, mused, "However, the key point in this intelligence is the following statement: 'Fang Che today mentioned the Yixin Sect Leader Yin Shen Palace. His exact words were: for example, the Yin Shen Palace people I met today.' Urgent message."
"This is extremely important. This girl probably doesn't realize she has conveyed such major intelligence."
Chen Ru Hai immediately became alert, deep in thought, "It's Yin Shen Palace, and not just any people, but Yin Shen Palace and others… This 'and others', is worth considering. Moreover, how did Fang Che meet Yin Shen Palace?"
Chen Ru Hai continued, "Fang Che is merely an external relative of a ninth-level family. At his level, he shouldn't even have the privilege to know the name Yin Shen Palace. Now he's actually seen them, there must be a reason."
"Yes. What reason could it be?"
"The biggest possibility is that Yin Shen Palace has arrived, and he has seen them, meaning Yin Shen Palace is in Bibo City?"
"Why would he have the qualification to meet Yin Shen Palace?"
"Most likely, it's for induction ceremonies. Apart from such events, he has no chance of meeting Yin Shen Palace."
"So Fang Che has already joined the sect; this is set in stone."
"Yin Shen Palace is the head of a sect, and the headquarters of Yixin Sect is certainly not here. Would they come especially for a mere Fang Che to conduct his induction ceremony? Isn't that making too much of a trifle?"
"Yes, so Yin Shen Palace must have come here for another significant reason. And it must be a major reason," Fan Tiantiao's face grew even more troubled.
"When Yin Shen Palace personally gets involved, it must be for something significant. Within this two thousand mile radius, what else is worth a visit from Yin Shen Palace?"
As they discussed, their ideas became clearer and clearer.
"If it's an attack on Guardian Hall, Yin Shen Palace wouldn't and shouldn't dare. So..."
Chen Ru Hai's gaze suddenly sharpened.
"Tiexue Palace?! Damn!"
"Report it immediately!"